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The Mad Ones: Crazy Joe Gallo And The Revolution At The Edge Of The Underworld (2009)

by Tom Folsom(Favorite Author)

2.98 of 5 Votes: 1

ISBN

1602860815 (ISBN13: 9781602860810)

languge

English

genre

History & Biography

publisher

Weinstein Books

review 1: The book is an impressionist masterpiece, recreating the feel of the times using an unusual writing style. The story sometimes jumps from one event to another, and does not deliver the history of its characters in a dry linear fashion. Some people will prefer a more straightforward approach, but I enjoyed the way the author used his style to provide impressions and not just information. Nice work!
review 2: I was hesitant about picking this one up because of the mixed reviews it's been getting. I wanted to like it because of its novel approach to the Joey Gallo story, that is, equating the Gallos with other mavericks in the arts at the same time, especially the Beats and the abstract expressionists, etc. The argument was that Joey, the beatnik gangster changed ... moreThe Mafia in fundamental ways. Unfortunately it's a poorly made argument and there is no substance to it, especially when you consider that for 10 of the 13 years covered in the book Joey was in prison.What makes the book difficult for the reader not already knowledgeable of the people and time period is the fact that absolutely no background is given on the people before they're introduced into the storyline--with one inexplicable exception. The exception being the killer of Joe Columbo, a black kid named Jerome Johnson. If Folsom gives us Johnson's background as a prelude to an argument that there was no connection between Joey Gallo and Johnson, he doesn't make it or even follow through. This book reads like a first draft. There should have been a second or third draft, then it might have been a five star book instead of a two or three. less

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